


Kowl Jr.

by TippenFunkaport



Series: SPOP Canon Compliant Post-War Fics [5]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Cute, F/M, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Glimbow week, Married Couple, Post-Canon, Post-War, Romance, mention of poaching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25884157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TippenFunkaport/pseuds/TippenFunkaport
Summary: With hundreds of new magic creatures awakening now that the magic of Etheria is free, Bow and Glimmer are called to investigate reports of poachers in the Whispering Woods and find a creature long thought extinct.For the Glimbow Week Countdown prompt pets.
Relationships: Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Series: SPOP Canon Compliant Post-War Fics [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1877971
Comments: 12
Kudos: 62
Collections: Glimbow Week 2020 countdown collection





	Kowl Jr.

“...and I press and button and, boom, it would convert from a bow to a lute and back again. So, peacetime, wartime, I’m ready, you know? And I’d call it... you ready for this? A Com-bow!” Bow laughed at his own pun because, come on, that was a good one! OK, maybe not good, like, by normal standards but his dads would have loved it. He glanced over at Glimmer who was still staring at the road ahead of her. It’s not like his wife had to laugh at all his jokes or anything, but she usually at least gave a loyal little chuckle. “Glimmer?”

“Hmm?” She looked at him like she’d been a million miles away. “Sorry, I wasn’t really listening. I’m still annoyed about something my aunt said.”

“You want to talk about it?” She’d been at Mystacor all morning and hadn’t said much of anything since she’d come back.

She made a frustrated noise. “I don’t know. I love Aunt Casta, I do, but she’s just so much sometimes. And it’s like she wants to be involved in my life but there’s involved and then there’s can you mind your own business? She won’t stop asking me when we’re going to but we’ve never even discussed it ourselves so it’s like... ARGH! And now she’s got my dad started on it too, and I can’t talk to either of them without it eing like... Why can’t you see? I’m just not ready! Maybe I never will be. Or maybe I am and I’m not sure what ready feels like because how can you even think with everyone constantly on your case about it?” She exhaled so hard it made the front of her hair flip off her forehead. “I’m sorry, you were telling me about some new invention?”

Bow wasn’t sure if he was supposed to have followed that train of thought or not. “Don’t worry about. If I actually figure out how to make it, I’ll just show it to you.” He put his arm around her as they walked. “Is there something you wanted talk about?”

“Not really. Not now anyway.” She sighed and leaned into his side. Well, whatever it was, it didn’t seem like she was mad at him so he didn’t press her about it. She’d talk to him about whatever it was once she was ready. “Do we have any idea where this place is supposed to be?”

“Let’s see.” He checked his tracker pad. They’d gotten a report of poachers in this area, but they moved around a lot so it was hard to say exactly where they were now. It was the sort of mission they could have easily sent anyone on, but the poaching problem in the Whispering Woods was really personal for Glimmer. Besides, sometimes it was nice to get out for a little adventure, just the two of them. It felt like the old days.

“Bow!”

Bow looked where Glimmer was pointing. There was smoke above the trees ahead. Glimmer had already disappeared, teleporting ahead. He grabbed his bow as he ran and had an arrow already notched by the time he caught up with her. If there was going to be a fight, he wanted to be ready. But when he reached the clearing, there was nothing there but the remnants of a campfire and some trash.

“We must have just missed them.” He kept the arrow notched and checked that the area was secure out of habit, even though Glimmer would have already done that. But that was just how they worked. Double checking, backing each other up, picking up each other’s slack. They were a pretty good team. But the poachers were long gone.

“They could at least put out their campfire so they don’t burn the whole woods down!” Glimmer kicked dirt over the smoldering ashes with a little more force than was necessary.

Bow stowed his weapons and put a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe they left some sign of where they are headed next. We’ll get them, I promise.”

She nodded, a quick motion that meant she was trying not to cry. She balled her fists, a clear sign he should leave her alone for a minute. He took his hand off her shoulder and she stepped away from him, kicking at the debris strewn around the abandoned campsite, looking for clues. He did the same, with a little less violence, but it looked like they’d covered their tracks pretty well.

“Who knows how many creatures they’ve already sent back into extinction before we even knew about them! How are their numbers ever going to come back like this? I make laws, I send out patrols but nothing I do matters! All they care about is getting rich selling trophies and sham cures!” She lifted a large metal plate and flipped it over with a crash. “These new creatures are old magic, older than any of us. We should be studying them, protecting them, respecting that they were here first. I’m not asking people to hold them in total reverence, just work with me and let me find a way for us all to coexist!”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Bow wasn’t sure what to say. Ever since She-Ra had awoken the old magic, new creatures had been appearing every day, long thought extinct. And they were all really cool, and they hadn’t even begun to learn all there was to learn about them. But there were so few of them, and their populations would never come back if people didn’t stop hunting them for profit and sport. He wasn’t even connected to the old magic like Glimmer was, and it still broke his heart.

“It just makes me feel like, what is the point? No matter what we do, there’s still so much evil. Is there ever going to be a point when we can say, OK, now the fight is finally over, the future finally looks safe and bright and ready for you? And this is the thing! The whole entire thing! How can you even justify bringing something helpless into this world when there’s so much that’s bad and cruel? Welcome to the world! Surprise, it’s horrible!” She made an angry noise and blasted the remains of an empty barrel with magic, sending the thing flying across the forest.

Bow wanted to say something optimistic, but he’d known Glimmer long enough to know sometimes it was better to let her rant and get it out of her system first. He’d started collecting the trash in a pile. If nothing else, at least they could get rid of this stuff, leave the woods a little cleaner than they found it. He was just doing a final sweep, making sure he’d gotten most of it, when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye.

“I’m going to see if I can find their trail. I’ll be right back.” Glimmer was gone before he could reply, which happened about 50 times a day, so he was used to it.

What is that? He moved towards the thing he’d seen. Probably trash that had been caught under the barrel Glimmer had just blasted. It didn’t look like more than a bit of orange fuzz caught in the wind, but when he reached down for it, it moved away from his hand. It was alive, that was for sure. There was something familiar about the colors of it. 

Oh my gosh! Was that? He tugged off the strap of his weapons and set them on the ground so they wouldn’t make any noise and squatted close to the ground. Cautiously, slowly, he reached for it again. It flitted away, but he kept his hand there, perfectly still. Gradually, it moved closer, it’s tiny purple beak reaching out to sniff at his hand.

Come on, little guy. It’s OK. I’m not going to hurt you.

It must be a baby. It was all disorganized fuzz, and it’s —ears? wings? Whatever they were— were still way too big for its body. There was a piece of eggshell stuck to its back. A very new baby, then.

He’d been frozen in the same position for so long his legs were going numb when it finally hopped into his palm. Carefully, gently, he closed his hand around it. It was like holding a fuzzy, warm tangerine. It was so small he could have caged it between his two hands with a little room to spare.

“Nothing! It’s like they--“ Glimmer began as soon as she appeared, but Bow threw his free hand up and she stopped. The little thing in his hand startled and almost jumped out, but he held it as firmly as he dared. He could feel the thing’s bones underneath its fluff, so fragile. “What is it?”

He sat down on a log and gestured her over. Once she sat next to him, he slowly opened his hand, making a soft shushing sound he hoped would help it understand they didn’t mean it any harm. He was ready in case it tried to jump, but it looked up at them, its head cocked. Glimmer gasped and leaned into Bow’s shoulder so she could get closer to it.

“Oh my gosh! It’s a baby Kolian! You know, like that doll my dad made me? Kowl? Aw, Kowl Jr..” Her voice was quiet, reverent. She held her hand out to it, just like he’d done. It took to her much faster than it had him and, when she stroked its back with her finger, it made a small sound halfway between a coo and a hoot. Glimmer squeaked with delight, and he couldn’t help but smile as she looked up at him. “It’s the softest thing!”

“As soon as I saw the colors, I thought that’s what it was. It’s soooo cute!” Bow had only met this thing a few minutes ago, but he was already completely in love with it.

Its body was covered in a pale orange fuzz but its wings— well, that’s what he’d decided to think of those large flaps on its side as anyway even though they also seemed to be its ears?— were striped with bright pink, yellow and blue. It looked kind of like a cross between an owl and a koala, with wings like miniature elephant ears all the way down the sides of its body. Its two front feet were more like paws than the bird claws of its back feet, but its nails weren’t sharp enough to do more than tickle against his hand.

“My dad told me they were extinct. Or as good as.” Glimmer made a little ball of pink light on the tip of her finger and held it up to it. The baby Kolian moved its head almost all the way around trying to figure it out.

“Maybe they were. And now that the magic is back, they’re not!” He reached out to stroke Kowl Jr.’s head and it ruffled its fur and scrunched down out of the reach of his finger. Glimmer laughed and even after all these years it was still the best sound in the universe. And he’d seen enough of the universe to know.

She reached out and the little Kolian hopped into her hand and snuzzled right up into her palm. “Aw, you like me!”

Bow pretended offense. “Oh, I see how it its! You know, I may not be magic but I’m alright.”

Glimmer held the little Kolian right up to her face and whispered conspiratorially to it. “He is, you know. I’ll vouch for him.”

It didn’t look convinced. Glimmer waved her fingers above its head and made a small shower of pink sparkles. The little Kolian stretched its neck as far as it could go and, when that didn’t work, it tried to flap its wings a little to reach them. Which didn’t work but was still adorable. They both aw-ed at the same time and then looked at each other and laughed.

“Not yet, little guy.” Glimmer said in this soft voice Bow had never heard her use before. He loved it. “My dad told me you can teach them to talk too but then they get kind of annoying.”

“That’s all I need. A little sarcastic fluff ball hovering over my shoulder heckling my every move.” Bow reached his finger out again, slower this time. The little Kolian regarded it for a moment and then pecked at it. “Sorry, bud, I’m not food. Though I’ll bet you’re hungry. Who knows how long it’s been out here by itself? I wonder what they eat.”

Glimmer grabbed his arm with her free hand. “You don’t think they had others? And this one got left behind?”

That was exactly what he thought but he wasn’t going to say it. Her grip on his arm was panic tight. He kept his eyes on Kowl Jr. as the little Kolian let him pet its tiny back. It really was the softest thing. He chose his words carefully. “We checked this whole area. I didn’t see any others.”

“But that means it doesn’t have its parents. It doesn’t have anyone to care for it!” She put Kowl Jr. back in his hand and started pacing. The little Kolian was watching Glimmer, and it looked agitated, fur ruffled and eyes wide. Either it hadn’t liked being handed off so or because it didn’t like to see her upset. Me either, little guy.

“We’ll care for it.” Bow brought the little Kolian closer to his mouth and shushed it, smoothing it’s fur back down with his finger. Shh. It’s OK. She’s upset, not mad. There’s a difference. You’ll be able to tell the difference once you know her better, don’t worry. Mad is much scarier. And she’s only upset because she’s worried about you. I think she loves you already. You’re pretty lucky to have her fall in love with you. I should know.

It was calming down, he could feel it’s little heartbeat slowing back to normal against his fingers. “My dads must have something about Kolians in the library. And if they don’t, we’ll figure it out.”

“Bow, we can’t! We have no idea what we’re doing! What if we screw it up?” She ran both hands through her hair. “This poor little thing is doomed! It didn’t ask to be born and now it’s here and everything is terrible!” She sank back down onto the log next to him, her face in her hands. She made choked sound and wiped at her eyes. “I don’t know what to do!”

“Well, I do.” He kept his voice soft because the little Kolian was getting worked up again. He kept stroking it with his thumb, as he used his free hand to hold his wife’s. “See, Kowl Jr., Glimmer here is right. You didn’t pick to be here right now and maybe if you could have you’d have picked some other time. The thing you need to understand about us is that we’ve known each other a long time. We’ve come up against all sorts of stuff and made it out OK. And we make a pretty good team. We take care of each other. And you’re one of us now.” It seemed to like the sound of his voice, it had calmed down and was watching him almost as if hypnotized. “I’m not going to lie, little guy, there are some bad things out here. There always have been. Probably always will be. But there are people like us too. And we’re here with you today so now can’t be that bad, right?” He watched as its eyes drooped. He shushed it until its eyes closed all the way. In half a minute it was a sleeping mound of fuzz in the palm of his hand.

Careful not to jostle it, he let go of Glimmer’s hand and reached over and slid the arrows out of his quiver. The bottom was thick padding so the arrows didn’t poke through and he added a handful of leaves to make sure it was soft enough before gently laying the little sleeping Kolian inside. He rolled down the sides of the quiver as far as he could until it looked like it was sleeping in a little cloth nest. Gosh, it was the cutest thing. He couldn’t stop looking at it. He gave it another little stroke with his finger and it made another one of those little hoot / coo things in its sleep.

Bow leaned over towards Glimmer and whispered. “I’ll just carry the arrows. We can go straight to the library, see what we can find out. I can grab some stuff in the woods on the way to try when it wakes up. Berries, nuts, maybe worms. We could set it up some kind of little bed in our room, though I don’t know how soon we’d have to worry about it trying to jump out the window until it learns to fly. Maybe I can rig something. Actually, Swift Wind could probably help with the flying thing. He’d love to be included. It’d be like having a really loud big brother. And I think one of my sisters was studying ancient animals, she might...” He trailed off as he realized Glimmer had been quiet for a while.

He finally took his eyes off the little Kolian and looked at his wife. To his surprise, she wasn’t looking at the sleeping ball of fuzz. She was watching him with this expression he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen on her face before. “Is everything OK?”

“Yeah. It’s just...” Her voice was soft and she linked her arm around his. She glanced down at the little quiver nest in his hands and then looked up at him with a small smile. “Do you want to have a baby with me?”

“Wait. What?”

  
Art by my awesome friend [Grinux](https://grinux.tumblr.com/post/632196104599060480/)!!

**Author's Note:**

> Did I write this fic solely to restore the Bow/Kowl BROTP from the 80s cartoon? Yes. 
> 
> (And by BROTP do I mean antagonistic bros who are allegedly best friends but are constantly dunking on each other? Also yes.)
> 
> Comments are always hugely appreciated no matter how long after posting it is!
> 
> Visit my Tumblr for asks, fic updates and misc thoughts. [https://tippenfunkaport.tumblr.com](https://tippenfunkaport.tumblr.com/)


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